A mystical Camino

I've used words like beautiful, incredible, amazing over and over but none of these do justice to the emotion I had in my heart every step we took along the way. As I walked through the Cathedral plaza on Saturday I was overcome with those same feelings over and over. It was as if my whole world had come to a stand still, our long journey across Spain was over, we would be saying more goodbyes to friends and going home to an uncertain future. Though It feels as if I left my job only yesterday, it seems like it was ages ago when we set out on foot from St Jean Pied de Port. It was much harder than I thought it would be, not that anything about walking 500 miles I thought would be easy. It really took about 2 weeks before we could start to truly appreciate our journey, slow down and be thankful that our bodies finally got the message that stopping wasn't an option.
There were days early on that I wanted to quit, I would collapse in the middle of a field, in the middle of no where and if a bus had rolled by on the way to anywhere I would have jumped right on it and headed south to warmer weather. But there was no bus and no quitting, we had made commitments to ourselves and to our fundraising efforts for Cancer. With a deep breath I'd gather the energy to get up and get going. And we kept going, through the elements, the pain that moved from one place to another through out our bodies. And it was worth every step.
The hardest part of coming home is the what now? Where is the road of choices and the excitement of arriving at a new unknown place, the anticipation of making a decision that will directly affect the experience that we will have today or tomorrow. We have already talked about the parts of the Camino we would like to walk again, it has taken a hold of us and won't be let go easily.
Everyone talks about the Camino and the mystical experience they had. My personal hope going on the Camino, apart from our fundraising efforts, was that there would be this amazing epiphany or that something miraculous would happen to change my life, maybe I would find my own answers to some of life's mysteries or suddenly find my "calling" or face my fears head on. Incredible things seem to happen to other people maybe the Camino would be that for me? I can't really say that any one thing in particular would be of more interest to anyone other than my closest friends or family but I can say that I wouldn't trade the experience for anything and being able to share it along the way made it that much more exceptional. Losing my job meant a window of opportunity opened for me and I took it. The miracles on the Camino for me were the everyday steps we took, the people that appeared out of no where to guide us on our way or to add to our already adventurous day. The special moments of pausing on a hilltop with a monk from Philadelphia, two Germans facing their own mortality and sounds of amazing grace playing on a pan flute, all of us strangers experiencing the beauty of a day's walk. The everyday miracles were when a long walk meant you could be in total solitude with the beauty that surrounds you and without interruption send your prayers to those you knew needed them greatly and maybe say a little prayer for yourself to get up that mountain on a cold and rainy day. The simpleness of frost around a golden leaf reminding you that the beauty of fall is tightly holding onto it's last days before the cold winter sets in. Or a rock that seemed to be shaped into a heart that you almost walked right by without notice, the tall windmills that seem to quietly divide one region from the next the high winds of the region giving them momentum. It was the mystical 900 year old tree that twisted in shapes of faces, lining our path, and it's old Galician caretaker who was so proud to tell it's story. Those were the things we noticed and saw truth in. The truth we sought in our journey seem to lie more in it's simplicity. One step in front of the other, understanding of our fellow perigrinos, our relationship with the nature surrounding us rain or shine, wind or cold, mud or rocks. I had countless conversations with nature and her mischievous persistence to alter our journey. Those were the simple things that greeted us each day and allowed us to have truthful conversations with ourselves and our souls. But most of all it was the people that shared their steps with us that will leave a lasting impression on us. Each with their own moving stories and sharing with us their reasons for being on the Camino. I had come to the Camino in search of a future or at least a hint to it. And although the answer didn't fall on my head or appear to me in a dream I did learn that with faith the wrong turns or unfortunate predicaments we found ourselves in at the end of the day always seem to turn out just fine. And as Dwight said, this journey will probably take a while to sink in. Even though we took the same road to Santiago both Dwight and I have been changed in different ways and our reasons for going were different as well.So as we finish up the last of the Thanksgiving leftovers and look ahead to Christmas and the new year, I realize with that our paths will take awhile to unfold as well, but it will and it will be another chapter in this long journey and at the end of the day with faith it will be the best road we could have hoped for simple or not. Dwight and I retraced our steps to find the last arrow on the Camino, this was the last one before you entered the old part of the city. A bagpiper adds a special touch to the sounds and sites of Santiago. Getting some much needed rest, Marley was content to see us home safe and to smell of all the places we had been.

Pilgrim service today and a chance to rest

Santiago at night definatley is quite magical. It's a wonderful old town, with cobblestone streets, old stone buildings, filled with wonderful sounds of bells tolling, street musicians and people milling about the square . Last night we celebrated Hugh's birthday and our long anticipated arrival in Santiago with Paella and Rioja wine, not really wanting the little time we had in Santiago to end.

Everyday the Cathedral holds a mass at 12 to celebrate the previous day's arrival of Pilgrims. Although it is entirely in Spanish I was albe to hear when the Priest mentioned us and several of the people we had been priveledge to have met along our journey. I suddenly had the feeling as if being at a wedding, you walk down the aisle and see all these faces you haven't seen in a long time and old friends, waving to them and excited to be there. It was so moving to see all the people we had met at different times on the Camino. Some we may not have known their names and others we had walked many miles with. How we all ended here on the same day was a miracle. We had an emotional reunion with our friend Angie from Australia. We had become separated a few weeks ago and hoped that she may make it to Santiago in time for us to see her before we left.
After the Mass we all gathered in the plaza, celebrated our reunions, congratulations and even a birthday. Some had travelled as far as Belgium or Le Puy! Much more than we had come. Some would continue on to Finisterre, the end of the earth, to feel the Atlantic waters, a 3 day walk from Santiago. We continued the party at lunch with 26 of us taking over a nearby restaurant!

Our goodbyes to Hugh, Tina, John and Thomas was really tough. We wish them the best of health, specially to Thomas, and we know we will see you soon. You all were such a blessing to us on our last days our journey, so thank you for letting us come along on your vacation. and to Angie and Steph we are greateful for our wonderful journey together, may the new road you happen upon be a good one.

Off to see some more of the city and some final goodbyes...

Arrived in Santiago Today

About 3 o'clock this afternoon we made our way thru the winding streets of Santiago, the cathedral coming into view with the last steps we would take on the Camino. While we left out this morning with our UK friends in the mist and fog, Dwight and I wanted to share the walk in together. We had come a long way. Today was a short walk of under 12 miles, and it was probably one of the most beautiful days we have had in the 5 weeks of our travel. It was up and down steep hills but our packs seemed light and we felt pretty strong physically. As I type the cathedral bell tolls loudly as if it is just outside my door. We celebrated in the plaza in front of the Cathedral with champage and were thankful to share the experience with our new UK friends as well as our friend Steph from south africa and the Collie who herself walked all the way from Astorga. We received our last sello, (stamp) and our signed certificate. It is official, we have walked the Camino!!! We stood in front of the cathedral for quite some time thinking about how far we had come, all the wonderful people we met along the way and some of the most incredible scenery you could image. The slow pace of walking thru the Camino heightens the appreciation for it in a way that only walking it can. Every choice we made directly impacted what we would experience on the way, we have been blessed with health and no blisters but most of all clarity in our minds that this is just the beginning. As anyone who has done the Camino will say, finishing the Camino is really the beginning, it's about the journey and it doesn't end when you leave Santiago.


We will have one more day here and then will be heading to Madrid to fly home on Sunday. Amazing, we have wyfy where we are staying but no heat!!! So email us and we will get back to you before we leave out tomorrow. Thanks to everyone for their great emails!!!! We will try and do some more posts of the remainder of our trip so stay tuned.

Arzua on our way to Santiago

Sunset in Palas De Rei.

Dwight walking with our UK friends after finding yet another river that appears to be flowing upstream.
I am sitting on a street curb in Azura after walking thru the small town to see if I could get a signal. Yes, lots of strange looks but you never know when you can get back on the internet. With only 25 miles to go to Santiago it almost feels bittersweet, leaving out today from Azrua with mist and fog. Sending our packs on by taxi will give a little rest to our feet after yesterdays long walk of 20 miles. We are still traveling with the crew from the UK that we met back in Sarria. They are so much fun and making these last few days enjoyable and entertaining.
By looking at the picture of Thomas you can see why they want to send their packs forward, but for ritual sake we will walk the final 12 miles into Santiago tomorrow with our full gear. It truly has been such an enriching and mystical experience. Neither of us would trade it for anything. Every step along the way has been challenging mentally and physical, ever changing, with unexpected blessings sometimes in disguise. So many times along the way, someone has come from no where, just as we walked past our turn, and has set us straight on the right path. It is almost erie, as we turn back around and there is no one there. The people we have met along the way are amazing individuals with such varied stories and character. So far Galicia has been my favorite part of this journey. Almost every town along the Camino was created mostly for the Pilgrims, their reason for being and each step we take we walk in the footsteps of so many before us. We can almost hear the whispers of their stories and imagine what their journey must have been like so long ago.

Our Compostela is almost filled with stamps we have collected along the way, our feet our tired, clothes a little looser and our packs a little lighter and although we can't see it yet, Santiago looms before us and we are excited to get there.

Leaving Palas De Rei, we get closer and closer to Santiago, each marker reminds us of the little time we have left here.
Dwight thinks there will be lots of cows in Santiago.

Palas de Rei to Arzua, two days to Santiago

We arrived in Palas de Rei last night, very nice walk, and only a smidgen of rain. The stay over in Portomarin was nice altough not much of a chance to do alot because of sore feet and rain. I thought i was surely going over the bridge the wind was so strong, i practically did a sprint all the way across. The coolest thing about Portomarin was it is a new town, by spanish standards, the old one long ago flooded. You can still see the old roman bridge below the new one and remains that lie beneath the water. They actually took the church of san nicolas and rebuilt it in the new town, each stone numbered for placement. We enjoyed a great dinner with Hugh, Tina, Thomas, John, the crew from the UK we met a few days back and Steph from S Africa. Ironically, Tomas is a cancer researcher from Germany so we talked alot about cancer, fundraising, and advancements being made with the disease.This morning, after one of the coldest nights we have spent here,(I think they turn the heat off just after you go to bed) too cold to even sleep, we set out for Arzua but without packs. Occasionally, if we are going very far or just plain tired, well ok, that is everyday, we will send our packs on to the next town. Can you imagine trying to do that in the states?? It would cause total shutdown. Anyway, we are having a wonderful walk and are even finding ourselves walking slower, i guess, getting into santiago is so close, we only have two more days and we are done. We have hurried along for over 4 weeks now and now that is it almost here we don´t want it to end. We have sdtopped in a little cafe to update the blog, get a bite to eat and it is hard to believe we only have 30 miles before we reach Santiago. We expect to be in Santiago on Thursday unless of course something detours us which is always possible. We will check in in a day or two, tell everyone to check us out, we are almost done!!!!

Rain and cold but still beautiful days of walking

Today, even with the rain, we took our time along the mountainous pathways, the wind could have blown us over, and the rain has been relentless for two days. Night before last we stopped in a one man show town, not sure you can call it a town, Fonfria, kind of like in that movie where it is the same guy who is your waiter, then your taxi driver, the hotel receptionist, that keeps reapprearing, but the neatest little town with pointed roofs and a celtic influence. definatley from another time.

Again in Sarria, we woke up to rain that is still with us two days later. we are still carrying on with the lady from south africa, still searching for a home for the collie. dwight and i have only 4 days to walk to santiago, even passing the 100 k marker today was quite the event. the scenery here is so unbelievable and changing every day. we have had the most amazing walks thru trees that are straight out of the movie big fish, so annimated, with faces and arms, very mystical. one man stopped us to tell us about his 900 year old tree, showing us exactly where to stand to get the best picture. so endearing. last night we sat by a wonderful fire, drying out mostly, and singing old songs with a few irishmen, a german, an english very young guy and our host from the auberque who we desperately wanted to chat with but the language barrier was too great.
we arrived in portomarin kind of late in the day, 15 miles today. still cold, still raining, but we are warm and ready to go another 16 more tomorrow. maybe.

OCebreiro to Sarria

So that big mountain i keep talking about and getting into Gallicia, well we finally got there. besides the pyrenees it was one of the most amazingly beautiful days we have had and pretty tough. luckily we stopped short of the big hill the night before so we were pretty fresh going up to ocebreiro the little celtic influenced town that sits just at the top. the town was built specifically for the pilgrims traversing the mountain and would have been a great place to stay the night but we had lots more terrain to cover that day. It is over 1400 meters high and a great place to start for anyone who only has a week to get to Santiago.

my favorite shot after ocebreiro was of dwight next to the big pilgrim mounument looking out to the west.

this is me, conked out, just a bit more to go before we cross over into galicia, but you have to stop once in awhile and just appreciate the moment and the beauty surrounding you. this part of our journey was my favorite, and so far galicia has not dissappointed us, the people are friendly and the surroundings stay greeen and vibrant because the region is blessed with so much rain, and believe me we thought hard to remember this with the days of walking in the cold rain, it wears you down but we enjoy it none the less.

most of the time, you have no idea how far, or what is around the next corner and sometimes it just seems you are walking into the light, after a long, steep climb.

Stopping for the day

Our crew leaving out this morning, must have been 10 degrees, standing under the door of forgiveness, although, it is concerning that we never walked thru that door.
We made it over the first mountain, after a very cold night, lots of barking and snoring and therefore little sleep. Villafranca del Bierzo is an old French feeling town that sits at the base of the mountain, that even though not known for their wine, they have great wine. We got there yesterday after a nice uninvited detour with rain and extra kilometers I wasn't too happy about, but we decided that if we wouldn't have gotten lost then the older french gentleman who happened upon us, who talks to himself alot, would have lost his way much more than us. So it was the blind leading the blind, the three of us made it to the auberque, sat around drinking wine with a lot of nutty strangers and a clown and we were treated to a hot meal by the hospitaleros. (this is what they do, feed and take care of the pilgrims before they make their way over the mountain) As hard as the physical part of this journey is, the people make it worth the trip. We've concluded that if everyone who holds some kind of political office should have to walk the Camino there would be no war, no hatred. We all get along, all from different cultures, backgrounds and languages. As different as we are, it is truly an amazing and enlightening experience that each of share together is his or her own way.
Our stay tonight in a small one stop/bar/shop town is about 6 miles from the top of where we were heading when we set out this morning. But, we felt a warm shower, washer and dryer and wyfy was too much to pass up. I am so excited about clean clothes and a warm shower it's not even funny.
A view of Villafranca del Bierzo, looking back as we ascend the first mountain.

a few pictures to share

Three nights ago we stopped in a small town as we made our way toward Ponferada. We are starting to really enjoy our smaller town stays compared to the larger cities. This wooden cross sits on the edge of the small village of Acebo, and was taken just as the sun was going down over the mountains.

Camina, our new found friend, we are still searching for a home for her and hope that before we reach Santiago we will find a loving family to take her. She loves to walk, obviously, she already has close to 60 miles under her collar. Her Foster mom, Steph, found her in such a bad way, but her hair is coming back, she has a spark in her step and definatley has found her voice again. Any thoughts on the home front??

Dwight took this picture yesterday on our detour, u turn on the way to Villa Franca del Bierza.

Placing stones

A couple of days back, hard to keep track when actually, we arrived at Cruz de Ferro. This wooden tall stake sits atop of a large pile of rocks, about 1500 meters high on the mountain and in the old days was used as a guide for pilgrims crossing the mountain. It is an old pagan ritutal to place your stone that you carted with you from home on top of the pile, relieving yourself of the burdens you have been carrying along your journey. Dwight and I had done some hiking back home, brought two stones we found at stone mountain and placed our own stones there, taking time to reflect on our journey and what we each had to leave at the Cruz de Ferro. The journey has been beautiful and more than we could have imagined. With less than 200 kilometers to go we are starting to cherish each day here, even when we are dirty, hurting and dragging one foot in front of the other. Each day, we get better at understanding that a wrong turn, wrong directions, mistranslation, an auberque not found, or even a broken stick really means that where we're meant to be is just where we are. It seems unfortunate on the surface but in the end it all works out and we instead missed something more unfortunate or were given a very very wonderful experience instead of a worse case scenario.

left ponferada this morning, taking a break

yesterday we made it to pondferadda before the rain came in. it was quite cold and we only got to walk by the knights of templar castle. lots of construction. we are now middle way to our next town of villafranca where tomorow we leave to cross over the big mountain into galicia. at the auberque there they will transport your pack for two euros. i think we will take them up on that. since astorga we have been travelling with two older ladies, one from south africa, stephe, a real gem and angie from australia. they both have lived some amazing lives and steph has been walking since le puy (500) miles before where we started!! and she at 56 has two hip replacements! talk about inspiration! we also have been caring for a little one, Camina, a beautiful collie that they found in dire straights. we are looking for a home for her and have less than 200 k to find one. we considered bringing her home, she is so special but the costs are uncertain and we are just not sure if we could do it. so we are keeping faith that a good home is out there and in the meantime we have a wonderful companion to guide us to santiago. be back soon, we must get moving before our muscles get cold....

Sunny day from Astorga to Rabanul

We had a beautiful day on our walk yesterday to Astorga. Along the way we followed a monk from Philly and had an incredible experience on the hill just above astorga with a rendition of amazing grace from two fellow perigrinos. Astorga is a beautiful, old town sits on a steep ridge, that had a thriving postion of military, pilgrim and trade routes in it's day. For Sunday there isn't much happening, so today we left around 8:30, and made our way towards Rabanal, a very very small town that for centuries has held the traditions of caring for the pirlgrim traveling thru before he/she makes their journey over the mountains. Tonight we experienced great care in the little auberque we are staying, wonderful food by the owners and our company varied but fellow perigrinos we have encountered in the last few days. Three Germans, one Australian and a South African, oh and Camina, a sherpard dog two ladies brought out of harms way and they are bound for Santiago and hopefully will find her a home. It is about 10 degrees outside and the stars are so clear!!! you can almost touch them. The strangest thing is in the middle of no where I am on wyfy, someone's network so I am getting access, trying to make the most of it, but there is no outlet inside so I am sitting outside, feezing my tush off because my battery is dead and the only outlet is outside. There is a church here that some German monks have recently taken residence here and we were able to go to the Vespers earlier this evening, which was wonderful. So, it's cold, I am going to sign off. I've uploaded new pictures so go check them out. See Pictures Here.

5 degrees celsius in Leon today

Last night we spent an hour in the convent listening to the Vespars, nuns singing and giving Mass, quite an experience! Amazing, angelic voices filled the small church, we were outsiders, observers and blessed to have the opportunity to experience it. Today, we left early and were able to see the cathedral again as the sun threw wonderful light on it's east side facade and intricate stainglass windows. It is 5 degrees celsius and quite cold but the cold doesn't feel as cold as we probably look as long as our feet keep moving and the wind stays to our back. (which is never does, it either blows right at you or tries to throw you sideways.) The region here can be unpredictable especially as we leave here and move on into the mountainous regions of Galicia. As we leave this big city, I am actually looking forward to the quiteness of the countryside. I am not sure when we will find internet access again so if you don't hear from us in a few days we are probably snug in our bunk beds somewhere in some place land, or still well, walking.

Last week, Our Journey across the Meseta

This picture was taken about 7:30 in the morning just as the sun was coming up. We were already 5 k into our journey, leaving a small town, in the middle of no where, the only inhabitants were the ones serving us dinner the night before in an old smokey bar. Unlike many residents we have encountered the older couple who ran the bar/restaurant were jovial and we were thankful for the beer and hot meal. We also sat over a beer with several other perigrinos, the language barrier although frustrating, we still manage to find laughter in the smallest of things. The term lost in translation has taken on newer meaning. The Meseta is a never ending flat lands on the plateu of the Castille y Leon region. The winds and the mud were so bad that day we forgot about our heavy packs and the long miles we still needed to tred. It is a truly beautiful journey across, away from the rest of the world, solitude at it's best.

We are thankful for every arrow, every tree that bears a yellow mark directing us on our way and every stacked stone, reminders of all that have tred this path before us. Each placed stacked stone is a symbol of burdens left behind. Everyday we leave two stones next to others that have been placed before us and we remind ourselves that our burdens are small, comparatively. Every person we meet has their own story, their own reasons for being on the Camino, all searching or hoping to leave their burdens behind, upon the piles of stacked stones. Today our steps are a little lighter than the day before...